Book vs. Movie: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.  The story centers around Percy Jackson, a 12 year old boy with ADHD and dyslexia who discovers that he is a demi-god when he is attacked by a fury at his school.  He finds out that his best friend, Grover, is actually a satyr sent to protect him from monsters and his teacher, Mr. Brunner, is actually a centaur who runs a special camp for demi-gods called Camp Half-Blood.  Percy's mother and Grover accompany him to Camp Half-Blood, but they are attacked by a minotaur just outside the camp.  Percy defeats the minotaur by ripping off its horn and stabbing it, but Percy's mom is lost during the fight and her soul winds up in the Underworld. Percy goes into the camp and soon learns that his father is the god Poseidon, one of the Big Three (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades). He also learns that the Big Three made a pact that they would not father anymore children because of a prophecy that a child of the Big Three would make a decision on his or her sixteen birthday that would either save the gods or destroy them.  Clearly, Poseidon broke the pact.  Percy meets new friends in Camp Half Blood: Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, and Luke, a son of Hermes.  Soon after, the oracle sends Percy on a quest to find Zeus's missing lightning bolt.  Annabeth and Grover join him on the quest, and they face a number of challenges, such as Medusa, the Lotus Casino, and even the god Hades, whose Helm of Darkness has also been stolen.  Percy learns that Hades has him mother's soul. Ultimately, Percy finds out that it was Ares who stole the bolt and the helm.  He and Percy battle, and Ares ends up leaving the bolt and helm with Percy, who then returns them to Zeus and Hades. In return, Hades returns Percy's mother.  Once back at Camp Half-Blood, however, Percy finds out that his friend Luke was actually involved in the theft of the two powerful items.  Luke tries to kill Percy but fails. When he recovers, Percy returns to live with his mother and reenroll in school.  He will return to camp in the summer.  His adventures are, of course, continued in the remaining books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

The film version of The Lightning Thief was released in February of 2010.  In general, I am hesitant of watching movies based on books, especially books I enjoyed, because I am terrified that the director will ruin the story.  Occasionally, I do find the movies enjoyable, though, despite the fact that I believe, with very few exceptions, that the book is always better. I watched The Lightning Thief with my husband and eight-year-old son, neither of whom had read the book.  That way I could get both perspectives on the movie.  Perhaps predictably, my husband and son both enjoyed the movie.  And, really, I enjoyed it as well, although I did keep sort of a running list of plot points that had been changed or left out completely.    The first change that I found interesting was the change in the ages of the characters.  In the books, Percy and Annabeth are 12; in the movie, they are much older teens, maybe 16 or 17. I suppose that the director felt that the characters actions in the story would be more believable for audiences if they were older.  I, however, felt that their younger age was important to the story: they are demigods--they should be able to do more than other children their age. I also felt that it may have been a poor choice to up their ages if the producer intends to make film versions of any of the other books in the series. Very quickly, the characters will be too older for the timeline in the books, as will the actors. I also found some of the changes and omissions in the film interesting.  For example, little is mentioned about Annabeth's past, how she came to Camp Half-Blood, or her relationship with Luke as presented in the book.  This, too, may cause issues in subsequent movies, as this information becomes increasingly important throughout the series.  Also, some important characters from the book are missing from the film or have a much smaller role: Clarisse, Dionysus, Ares, and Thalia, for example.  Some of the locations visited during the quest are also changes, as well as some of the monsters Percy, Annabeth, and Grover encounter.

Overall, while I believe the film could have been better had they stuck more strictly to the novel, I have to admit that the film was entertaining.  It certainly caught my son's attention and peaked his interest in reading the books in the series.  The elements I loved most about the book--the hero's quest and the use of Greek mythology--are still strong in the film, as are the themes of the novel: loyalty, trust, bravery, responsibility, friendship, and family. I certainly think the film could be used to give readers a visual for the various gods and goddesses and monsters mentioned in the novel and could provide for an interesting compare and contrast activity for students who have read the book and then watched the film.

References

 Barnathan, M., Columbus, C., Hammel, T. M., Harlacker, J. Morgan, M., Oseary, G., Radcliffe, M., 

     Rosenfelt, K, Swallow, K. (Producers) & Columbus, C. (Director). Percy Jackson and the 

     

     Olympians: The lightning thief. United States: Fox 2000 Pictures. 

Riordan, R. (2006). Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book one: The lightning thief. New York: 

     Disney-Hyperion.